Blue skin
by Cee Marie
Summary: What if Loki discovered his true heritage at a much younger age? What if his more naive mind kept him from the hate and fear that destroyed him in the movie? Rated teen just in case.


It was the day that ruined his life...

"You're dead Loki!" cried Sif as she ran after him. As always, Loki was making trouble. This time he had enchanted her daggers to stick to the ground. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't lift them. But, blast it, he had forgotten about her sword.

And so it was that he ran from the training grounds and into the palace, dodging trough halls and in and out of rooms, all the while avoiding Sif.

She was fast, but Loki was faster. His long thin legs were strong and his light weight let him almost fly. He looked like a stag, racing through the palace like that.

Sif was fit, but she was also more muscular, which made her heavier. But she had stamina.

Loki swerved around a corner, nearly loosing his footing. Down a hall and around another corner where he nearly ran into a servant. Loki sidestepped past, making her drop the sheets she had set off to wash. He didn't even bother to apologize. Just kept running.

As the servant bent over to pick up the fallen sheets, Sif barreled past, knocking her down once again.

"Sorry!" Sif cried over her shoulder, but kept on running.

"Humph, not again." Said the maid, picking up the sheets.

A lean shadow sped through a corridor and vanished.

Sif ran in and skidded to a stop. She was sure he had gone this way.

She growled under her breath. _'You will pay for this Loki.'_

Hidden out of her sight, in a small air passage, was Loki. His rather small size allowed him to fit in the tight space.

That was Loki's advantage, he know the palace inside and out. All the hideouts, the passages, everything.

Sif swerved her head back and forth, searching for him. She was tall, but not quite as tall as him. They both looked to be teenagers by midgard standards. Her long hair had once been blond, but many years ago Loki had cut it off, replacing it with raven locks. Like his.

That day he felt he had won something. Like he owned a part of her almost. Almost. How angry she had been. But it was worth it. She actually had looked at him. That's how it was, the only way Sif even noticed Loki was when he made her mad. Like now.

Sif froze. She had heard something. Down the hall. She stood there for a while, then turned around and ran off. A trick of Loki's magic. _'Horse.' _Thought Loki, using the nick name he had given Sif. Her face certainly did look like a horse, long and narrow. And how she hated it.

Loki crawled out of his hiding place after Sif had left. He then made his was down to a place he knew he could avoid her for a while. There he would await until dinner, and then he would be free of her for the day. Hopefully.

Silently moving down to lower levels, Loki finally made it to the vault. He snuck past the guards with his magic and hid deep inside. He decided on a spot behind the Casket of Ancient Winters, where the air was cooler. There he sat down and summoned a book seeming out of nothing. He stayed there for a while reading.

After some time he drifted off to sleep.

_The world was full of ice and snow. But Loki felt none of it. All of his life he seemed to be immune to cold. But this was different. Loki felt no cool on his skin, but his heart was as if it were frozen solid. He couldn't breath. He realized he was freezing from the inside out. Loki sank to his knees, ripping at his chest. His shirt fell away like brittle paper. His skin had turned blue, and as he clawed at it shard of it fell off like glass. Digging, digging. He had to get it out. Get what out? He kept digging. Pain seared his brain, but still he ripped at his heart. But he no longer had a heart. It had frozen over. Deep inside him, sat the casket that forever froze..._

Loki shot up away, and knocked the casket off it's stand. Instinct came over him and his hand shot out on reflex and caught the relic. The handle burned his skin like fire. Feeling pain he dropped it. The casket dropped to the floor, pulsing blue.

But Loki was no longer concerned by it. He was staring at his hand. It had gone from pale white to stark blue. Scar tissue laced it in complex patterns. Slowly it began to fade.

Loki's heart stuck in his throat. He could no longer breath. Slowly, shaking, he picked the casket back up.

_'No, no, no, no.' _He begged. _'I can't be true.'_

But no, as soon had his skin touched the casket it began to turn blue. Cold seized his body, and as it did, so did power. He could feel his muscles pules and grow. Ice began to run through his veins. Panic welled in him. Fear paralyzed his mind. It was terrifying, but somehow, he actually liked the power.

He gripped the casket tighter, and stood up.

A smile actually touched his lips as he thought of the power he had, but then he saw his reflection.

Blue skin covered him, and crimson eyes stared back. That brought him back to reality. He screamed and dropped the casket again.

He dropped, crumpled in a fetal position and cried.

_'I'm not a jotun. I can't be. I am Loki. Loki Odinson.'_

But his eyes told him otherwise.

Like a child, Loki wept. This couldn't happen, not to him.

His body began to spaz.

_'Father. I must talk to Father.'_

With all his energy Loki leapt to his feet and ran.

He rushed down the golden halls, but it all looked black to him. Tears streamed from his eyes. He knew, deep in his heart, the truth. But his mind denied it. He felt that it always would. He needed answers, so desperately bad.

Rounding a corner, he felt a warm body collide into him. He was knocked breathless to the ground.

"You!" Sif yelled.

She grabbed him by the collar and picked him up, feet dangling.

She snarled in his face, but froze when she saw his tears. No matter how weak he may seem, Loki never, _ever,_ cried.

"Sif, please. I must talk with my father."

She didn't move.

"Please."

Never, had she seen him like this. Slowly, she put him down.

"Loki, what's wrong?"

He swallowed hard, then, "I, I don't know. But it's bad."

Sif nodded. "Let's find your father."

And they left together to find the Allfather as friends once more.

Sif held Loki's quivering shoulder as he held back tears.

His life would never be the same again...

**R&R Please**


End file.
